Scars: A Burt and the Kid oneshot
by SarahLovesGlee
Summary: This is a one-shot inspired by Chapter 8 of my story "Burt and the Kid." Blaine and Kurt discuss Kurt's return to McKinley in the "Born This Way" episode, and Blaine confesses a secret to Kurt. Trigger warnings: discussion of homophobia based bullying and self-harm.


Hello everyone! I was asked a while ago if I would ever write a one-shot for this scene in my story "Burt and the Kid." I said no initially, mainly because I doubted my writing abilities, but I just sat down and wrote it, so here it is. I hope you like it. I don't think it's particularly well written, but if nothing else it's sweet.

This can be read separately from my story "Burt and the Kid" but I would, of course, recommend you read it first.

**Trigger warning**: Discussion of **homophobia** and **self-harm**. Please do not read if either of these may be triggering to you!

* * *

Kurt comes into the guest room as Burt leaves. Blaine sits up on the bed, swinging his legs over the bed so that he's facing Kurt. He's gathering his courage.

"Do you, do you want to talk about some things?" Blaine asks. His voice is soft, some anxiety seeping through.

Kurt nods, and moves closer to the bed. Instead of sitting down beside Blaine, he walks around the bed to the other side and lies down. He pats the bed beside him gently, his eyes wide as he silently suggests that Blaine lie down, too. Blaine does, lying on his side so that he can face Kurt.

"I didn't hear any of your conversation." Kurt says quietly. "I wasn't eavesdropping, I promise. I'll never try to pry information out of you or pressure you into telling me things."

Blaine thanks him and moves a little closer so that their foreheads are touching.

"I'm just scared." Blaine whispers. "It's like I said on Valentine's Day. I don't know what I'm doing and I'm just so scared that I'm going to mess things up between us. And I can't do that. I can't lose you. You mean more to me than I can understand, Kurt. I'm totally on board with you going back to McKinley, and I totally understand it and all, but I'm still sad. I'm going to miss you so much and I'm just so worried that it will put a strain on our relationship."

Kurt cuts him off, pressing a sweet kiss to Blaine's lips. It's not a distraction and it's not a change of topic. It's simply a comfort. Blaine's upset and Kurt will always help him however he knows best.

"It will be difficult. I know that." Kurt finally says, whispering the words into Blaine's skin as the kiss ends. "But I wouldn't have made this decision if I thought it could mean losing you or if I thought we weren't strong enough to get through it. You mean so very much to me, too, Blaine. We'll make this work."

The kiss resumes after this confession, gradually becoming more passionate. The boys have kissed like this a few times now, but it is still breathtakingly exciting for Blaine. The intimacy of it is just overwhelming, but Blaine hasn't forgotten what he was thinking about before his talk with Burt.

Kurt's hands start travelling across Blaine's body, innocently, but enough to spark Blaine's concern. One small move, the snake of hand, and Kurt would know. And then, it would be something he had kept from Kurt. Something that he hadn't trusted Kurt with, and that was not okay. The words are out of Blaine's mouth before he even considers their full meaning.

"Kurt. Stop. We need to talk about something."

Kurt freezes, his eyes filled with concern. Blaine knows what it means.

"You didn't do anything wrong. That was wonderful. I just want to tell you something."

"Okay." Kurt says softly. He turns so he's lying back on his side, the same position they were in before. He doesn't say anything more, but just waits for Blaine to speak.

It takes Blaine a few moments. Although he's told several people now, talked through every painful detail in therapy, he's never been so nervous to hear someone's reaction as he is to hear Kurt's. He frowns a few times, swallowing unnecessarily, and Kurt strokes his cheek gently. It's reassuring, the simple affection of it making Blaine more confident.

He leans back a bit so that he can see Kurt's expression more clearly. Despite this, when he does speak, it's more to Kurt's shoulder than his face.

"I told you about how I was bullied when I was in public school, but I never told you how much it got to me. I didn't know myself well at the time, I didn't know that I was a good singer or good at boxing or anything like that, so when all I felt was people hating me, it really hurt me. I was never confident like you are, so instead of knowing that they were wrong, I started believing the things they said about how worthless I was. "

Looking at Kurt's expression, Blaine wants to stop talking. Not because he's scared of Kurt's reaction. Not anymore. Not at all. Blaine can already tell that Kurt will be nothing but caring and supportive. Blaine wants to stop telling the story because he can see how much it is upsetting Kurt. Kurt is so empathetic that describing the pain Blaine had gone through is hurting Kurt. He knows that he has to keep going in spite of this.

"I didn't have any good outlets for my energy and, well - " Blaine gets choked up as he says this. He sees tears in Kurt's eyes.

Blaine takes a deep breath.

"I started cutting myself, Kurt."

Kurt doesn't say anything. He looks at Blaine so carefully so a few moments that Blaine starts to wonder if Kurt has developed the ability to read his mind. But then Kurt's arms are wrapped around him, pulling him into a tight hug. Just as suddenly, both boys are crying, clutching each other. It's sadness and heartbreak, but after a few moments it's also joy. They'd both gone through such awful, horrible times, but they'd both made it out. And now they had each other. What more was there to life than that?

Kurt pulls back after some time, wiping tears from his eyes, and then from Blaine's. He leaves his hands on Blaine's face, one on each cheek, cradling his head but also preventing Blaine from turning it.

"You've stopped, right?" Kurt asks, his eyes firmly on Blaine's.

The tears reappear in Blaine's eyes before he can stop them, knowing how much this admission in particular is going to hurt his boyfriend.

Kurt seems to have gathered Blaine's answer, his silent confession. He presses their foreheads together, still caressing Blaine's face. The tears return to his eyes as well.

"When was the last time?" Kurt asks, his voice still gentle, but at the same time making it clear that there is no way that Blaine can dodge the question. Blaine takes a deep breath before replying.

"Two months." Blaine watches the pain in Kurt's eyes as he realizes that the boys knew each other then. That Blaine had been so upset and felt so alone even when Kurt was in his life. He silently begs Kurt to not ask what had provoked it. He's lucky.

"So it's just when something triggers you or really gets to you?" Kurt asks. Blaine nods.

"If that ever happens again, if you ever feel upset or you're thinking about picking up your razor or anything like that, I want you to call me. No matter what time it is or where I am or what I'm doing, I will always answer. Please. Please, just promise me you'll call me."

Blaine nods, transfixed by the hurt he sees in Kurt's eyes. He finds himself thinking that he would promise anything this boy asked him to.

"I promise." Blaine says.

The boys hold each other a while longer, Kurt whispering sweet nothings into the skin of Blaine's neck, his cheek, his ear. He calls him perfect, which Blaine balks at, but then corrects himself saying that Blaine is absolutely perfect for him.

Eventually, Kurt shifts. He pushes himself up onto an elbow and looks down over Blaine.

"Would you please show them to me?" Kurt asks.

It's a request, but because of the connection Blaine has to Kurt right now, it might as well be a command. He begins rolling up his sleeves, first the left arm and then the right, rolling the sleeve up to his elbow.

"There's more, uh, other places, but this is where the majority are." Blaine admits as Kurt stares down at his scars.

"May I?" Kurt asks. Blaine nods.

Instead of the press of fingers Blaine had expected, he feels the press of Kurt's lips to his skin. It only takes a moment for Blaine to realize what Kurt is doing – Kurt is kissing each of his scars. Just a gentle kiss, but the sensation is overwhelming for Blaine. Kurt works slowly, methodically, moving across the occasionally criss-crossing cuts, going from the wrist up to the elbow. A few times, Blaine feels a tear drip off of Kurt's face and onto his skin. Eventually, Kurt moves over to pay the same attention to the other arm.

Blaine had thought that the kissing earlier had been intimate, but it was nothing compared to this. Blaine had opened himself up to Kurt completely, telling him one of the things he was most ashamed of, as well as some of his deepest fears. Blaine trusted Kurt with this knowledge. He knew that Kurt would never use Blaine's trust against him in anyway. This realization makes fresh tears appear in his eyes, replacing the tears of guilt and regret with tears of hope and admiration. And, dare he even think it, love.

When Kurt kisses the final scar, he lies back down beside Blaine, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend once more.

"You are so beautiful." Kurt whispers. His voice is reverent in a way that Blaine cannot even begin to understand.

So, instead of trying to understand, Blaine lets it sink in. He lets the praise settle into his skin in a way almost as palpable as Kurt's kisses. He presses himself closer against his boyfriend, nuzzling his face against the skin of Kurt's neck.

"Thank you." Blaine whispers. "Thank you for doing all of this, Kurt."

Kurt simply kisses the top of Blaine's head before replying.

"I can't imagine doing anything else, Blaine Anderson."


End file.
